“Raiders was a work for hire with nothing of Spielberg really.”
Exactly my point. Lucas had vision and creativity.
I disagree about all the movies you mention being anything of value.
They are sizzle, no steak.
His movies can seem to be more substantial than they are due to the subject matter, e.g. Schindler’s List. But it was a piece of junk. He even diminishes a subject such as the Holocaust by putting in anti-second hand smoke messages in it.
In only 30 minutes, Nuit et Brouillard made decades before by Alain Resnais does more than Schindler’s List even comes close to.
Don’t take me wrong, I am interested in your opinion because I don’t understand the respect for Speilberg (other than he did make a lot of money in his films).
I am interested in what you think is compelling about them
Lol...second hand smoke? That’s an irrelevant detail. SL gave us more of the economic undergirding of the Shoah than any dramatic film. There is a wealth of little details in it. Lucas made a fortune by peddling comic book boy’s adventures. ET is a great film about child psychology to put beside the early Disney feature films. Night and Fog is not a drama and is not in the same category.
Spielberg helped to change it: what people praise in him now isn't what they praised in Bergman or Antonioni.